“Eggplant is a really hit or miss thing,” diner Lori Demain said. “This dish is fluffy, complex, bursting with flavor. It’s crazy crunchy, perfectly fried super thin eggplant slices that are totally not slimy, which makes eggplant haters turn away. Wow.”
That’s how Demain described her order of eggplant gateau at Citrine Café, 100 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. The dish has been on the menu for almost a decade. It’s what the general manager, Stefan Palikuca, describes as an “untouchable” – a dish that will never be removed from the restaurant’s bill of fare.
“It’s called the eggplant gateau, which is the French word for a layered cake,” Palikuca said. “It’s a very thinly sliced, layered, breaded dish. Almost like an eggplant Parmesan, but a lot thicker, almost like a lasagna hybrid.”
They use a deli slicer or a Microplane to get the eggplant paper thin. Then it’s dredged, like fried chicken, in an egg wash and a flour mixture, which includes both all-purpose and double “O” flour and spices, including oregano and thyme. It is served with house-made marinara sauce.
“It can be done at home, but it is fairly labor intensive,” Palikuca said.
The recipe was introduced to the restaurant by a former chef who wanted to have a hearty and filling vegetarian option. This dish rises to a comfort food level.
Palikuca’s dad opened the restaurant. The family’s heritage informs some of the Mediterranean-focused menu.
“We’re from eastern Europe, Serbia, so that’s why we have Balkan influence on the menu,” Palikuca said. “We’re definitely Mediterranean fine dining, but we focus on all of eastern Europe. We have Serbian, Croatian touches. We have our house-made lepinja bread. It’s a traditional Serbian bread, like a grandmother would make. We par bake it, finish in the wood-fired oven, and serve it with a roasted red pepper eggplant spread.”
Another eggplant dish doesn’t faze Demain.
“I do love it. I grow it. I cook it. I eat it everywhere I go. Asian, Italian, doesn’t really matter,” Demain said.
Eating it at Citrine is special though. She feels the restaurant brings more than food to the table.
“Classy service! The friend I’ve eaten here with the most is a chef herself,” Demain said. “We both felt so well treated here. And then everything I’ve ever tried here that has been knock-your-socks-off delicious. Every. Single. Thing.”
Citrine will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in Oak Park next year. They promise that eggplant gateau will stay on the menu.
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Get in on the Flavor:
Website: citrinecafe.com
Address: 100 S Oak Park Ave, Oak Park
Hours:
Sunday Brunch 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Dinner 4:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Monday Closed
Tue–Thurs 4:30 – 9 p.m.
Friday 4:30 – 10 p.m.
Saturday Brunch 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Dinner 4:30 – 10 p.m.
